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Queen in a swarm

I've captured several swarms but have not spent more than a minute trying to find the queen in the ball of bees before I remove them. Is the queen generally in a certain place within the swarm? Is she moving around or is she deep in the middle with the bees clustered around her? I'm hoping to get several swarm calls in the next few weeks and would like to know if it's worth my time trying to find her and move her first. Thanks.

Re: Queen in a swarm

SteveBee... Best way I have found is... Shake, Place, whatever, the swarm into your box. Close your catcher container, place the container you have the swarm in, on the ground, a few feet from where the swarm was. If you got the queen, the bees you did not get in your catch, will come to the container, and try to get in. If the bees you did not get, fly to a new location and ball up, you likely did not get the queen.

I don't spend any time looking for the queen in a swarm. Most of the time it will disrupt your catch and moving them. Also if you have the queen, it may make her leave your catch container, taking the swarm with her.

Re: Queen in a swarm

Thanks, that's what I've done in the past. Ihave gotten the queen all but once, and was able to capture her on the second attempt. I just wondered if it was worth looking. It would be interesting to find multiple virgins in the swarm.